The mother of Jessica, a three-year-old girl killed in Setubal, owed the murder suspects 400 euros. The mother owed money to the three detained suspects who kidnapped the toddler and beat her, leading to her death on Monday, reports JN.
The suspects kidnapped the little girl for six days and after a severe beating, she ended up passing away at her house in Setubal, after her mother got her back.
The mother of the child, Ines, had already been previously involved with the three suspects who are part of the same family. Her husband, Paulo Amancio, had told JN that he had threatened to leave her if she kept getting involved with the family.
However, Ines owed money to the family once again, without telling her husband. To settle her debt by herself, Ines gave her daughter to the family on June 14.
Joao Bugia, the coordinator of the Judiciary Police (PJ) of Setubal told JN that one of the suspects, a woman now detained “convinced the mother to take her child to her home in the pretext that the girl would stay playing with her granddaughter, of the same age”.
Ines was not allowed to take her child back home and was given until July 7 to pay the debt or her child would not be returned. She hid this from her family, telling her family and husband that Jessica was in a summer camp until July 7.
On Monday, she decided to pick up Jessica and found her in a moribund condition. The mother took her child back home and told her husband that the child had fallen at the summer camp and was sleeping as the psychologist had prescribed her a sedative. Later that day, Jessica died and Ines contacted the police with the truth.
On Wednesday, the PJ detained the main loaner of the money (52 years old), her partner (58 years old), and her daughter (27 years old). They are being accused of qualified murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and extortion. The mother and her partner were interrogated but were not made defendants. The autopsy showed no signs of sexual violence against the child.
CNN Portugal reports that Ines owed the family money for “witchcraft” services such as prayers.
